Potential Of Team Mileage Vs Solo

I'm curious as to how mileage works out for teams as compared to solo. Assuming we compare a top tier solo driver vs a top tier team and all else being equal in those cases, are there synergies to take advantage of while working as a team? Is the possibility there for teams to make more than double the average of a top tier solo driver if they plan well? Or potential for the opposite, e.g. when the truck breaks down? Are there any pointers some team drivers could share?

Request Granted: How I Feel About Teaming

Read that post. It should answer that question.

Is the possibility there for teams to make more than double the average of a top tier solo driver if they plan well?

It's a good question, but it needs some clarification as to what you are really trying to accomplish. For instance, if you are team driving with a friend, you get your paycheck and your friend gets theirs. Each of you is limited by the same HOS (hours of service) parameters that a solo driver works with. So, a solo driver has the same earnings potential as each individual in a team.

Now, if you are team driving with your spouse, you can both deposit your paychecks in the same account. Therefore you're making twice what a solo driver makes, but that adds up that way only because both of you are working.

Many people get confused with the team driving numbers. I've had this discussion many times in here. I've even had people lay it all out for me showing how they know they can make more money by teaming, and after a few frustrating months they switch to running solo.

I've had people try to argue that they get better/longer loads because they are teaming, but it never makes sense to me. I run long loads all the time. Teams run time critical loads. Sometimes those are long runs. Perishables need to get to their destination before they perish. If strawberries grown in California need to be delivered to Maine, you want to get them there quickly. There's a lot of other freight going long distances that won't wilt or rot if it takes a few days to get there.

Team drivers fill a niche, but there's not a considerable difference in what each driver can make. Remember this business is performance based. Great drivers make great money. It doesn't matter if they're a team member or an individual. It takes a few years to get the hang of this so that you're earning top pay. There's not a shortcut to get there.

My personal opinion on teaming is that it's much better suited for experienced drivers. I never reccomend it for new drivers.

Forgot to sub to this.

Thanks both for the replies. I understand the pros and cons of running teams with a spouse vs someone else. My wife and I are interested in running teams and saving up a bit. I don’t think I could handle driving teams with someone else. The higher cpm just wouldn’t be worth long-term living with a new person in a cramped space.

I’m guessing that most people who initially consider team driving probably look at the higher cpm and make their arguments based on that.

The main point of my post was to find out if there are any planning or other methods unique to team driving that teams can utilize to further boost their income potential - methods that wouldn’t be available to even the greatest solo drivers just because of the fact that it’s a one-man show and he has to do it all, thereby limiting his driving time with other on-duty activities.

I’ve read elsewhere here that teams always tend to have hours. To me that sounds like time and money wasted at the end of the week. Doesn’t a top driver want to be as close as possible to out of hours by day seven or eight – ready to take a reset or start running recaps? What can teams do to make that happen?

Old School, I’m interested in your recommendation on new drivers not teaming. Is it because there is just too much else for them to juggle at the beginning? What about married drivers?

I too have considered teaming but just because I don't like hanging around truck stops for very long. Been doing very tight scheduled team runs in training and we are both always worried about HOS. We run out of hours or are close to it every 6 days. So we do running resets opposite of each other. Kicks your butt. You dont have time to adjust to altitudes or weather at all. Crossing the big mountain ranges east to west while sleeping hurts. You wake up and ears pop like 50 times and you have a headache then max your 11 driving with a 30 min break. 30 min shower and back to bed in a moving truck and its a lottery how smooth the road will be during your sleep time. Was smooth all day while you drive then backroads of say Tennessee or West Virginia not great sleep. Add construction bumps every few hours and you got a recipe for a good time. It can be done but I kinda want my reset sitting still now.

What's the higher cpm? I dont know what company you are looking at but most are paying that higher cpm to the team, it is then split in half to each driver. So that 78 cpm is really 39 cpm.

Old School, I’m interested in your recommendation on new drivers not teaming. Is it because there is just too much else for them to juggle at the beginning? What about married drivers?

Most newcomers jumping into this career have no concept of how exhausting it can be out here. They have this idea that says, "All truck drivers do is drive. How in the world can that be so demanding? They enjoy beautiful scenery, ever changing sunrises, and are practically paid tourists." I've yet to meet a rookie driver, who after a few months wouldn't admit, "Man, I just didn't even realize how much I didn't know when I jumped into this." This is a very rewarding career to me, but it was grueling at the beginning.

Your first year is a total learning experience. To be honest, I'm still learning little things that help me be more efficient at this. New team drivers tend to use their partner as a crutch. They help each other out. That's great, but oftentimes having that crutch readily available keeps us from pushing ourselves into doing things that might be a little beyond our comfort levels, and that is just the type of experiences we learn the most from. I was constantly pushing myself to learn things like difficult maneuvers, better time management, efficient trip planning, and safe driving techniques for inclement weather.

I needed my down time for proper rest. There's little down time for a team. The company needs to utilize their asset (the truck) efficiently. With two drivers on board they can push all the limits of hours of service and squeeze a little more juice out of that piece of equipment. That's the whole purpose of teams - they can move time sensitive freight properly.

New rookies need their rest so they can hit it hard on their next drive shift, but as a team they've got to try and sleep in a truck that's moving down the interstate. That doesn't come easy for most of us, plus their rookie teammate tends to wake them up everytime they have an issue they can't resolve. Therefore they aren't learning to resolve their own issues, and they aren't getting proper rest.

I just think the pressure of being alone out here forces one to figure it out. If you read trucking reviews online, it becomes obvious how many people fail at this job. It's a steep learning curve, and when you're out here all alone you're forced to "get it" or you just slowly wear yourself down to resolving that you made a bad choice of which company to start with. That's usually the two directions people take in their reckoning with their new trucking career. They "get it" or they go home.

Another huge problem with rookies running team is the difficulties of keeping a partner on board. I can't tell you how many times I've seen the rookies who get their start at team companies complaining about their partner quitting after just a few weeks. Now they've got to find another greenhorn to partner up with, and they can't seem to get dispatch to give them loads because they just don't have loads available for solo drivers. Now the rookie is wasting time and losing revenue because he's desperately searching for someone he thinks he might be able to get along with in a team situation. I remember one guy in our forum going through somethin like five co-drivers during his nine month contract.

As for married couples, that throws another dynamic into the mix. Some are going to do well with the learning curve, some won't. Married couples are typically your most desirable teams. They don't quit on each other, and they are willing to work things out. I really think you guys can do this. I didn't mean to discourage you. Jumping into team driving as rookies is far more doable as a married couple than it is as a young person who has false ideas about making more money as a team driver. I still think starting as a solo driver is the best way to focus on honing your craft as a professional driver, but had my wife wanted to be a team driver with me when I started this career I would have jumped right in here with her as my co-driver.

Are you still in Prague? Do you have the requisite visa and pre-trucking licensing experience to get a hire? Those are large hurdles to be overcome, before

People operate under the delusion that two drivers make 2X the $$. But physics and HOS dictate that those 2 drivers will only be able to drive the same amount of miles (in the same amount of time) as the same 2 drives running solo. Team CPM (to the truck), works out roughly the same as solo CPM to the driver. 6K miles split two ways, is the same as 3K miles in one pocket. Teams spend the same amount of time at the dock, fuel island, repair bay - as solo's.

So a husband/wife TEAM with a joint bank account - would be depositing the same amount of $$ into that account - if they were both driving solo.

Even with one of my spouses (any of the 3 ex's - but hey, I loved em when I married them) I couldn't see being in a walk-in closet that never stopped rolling for very long. And with the $$ not ACTUALLY being any better...

Rick

Before this summer, at Prime, solos would make the same as a team driver. This summer Prime dramatically increased the bonus for teams on a tier system.

So basically, a team doing 5000 miles would get $1650 each before fuel, safety, service and other bonuses.

A solo driver at 2500 miles in a lightweight at 49cpm does $1335 plus bonuses.